MeFi as MMORPG!

February 25, 2005 12:34 PM

This is my greatest stolen modified idea today. Metafilter hitpoints! We all get 5000 to start. Once you level up via unattacked thread posting, you can cast healing spells on your favorite, but inexplicably hated MeFi pals, or do double damage with Fireballs. Anybody who reaches zero has their account closed, unless someone ells resurrects you by sacrificing 3/4 of their remaining points.
posted by thirteen to Feature Requests at 12:34 PM (152 comments total)

Who needs WoW?
posted by thirteen at 12:36 PM on February 25, 2005

.
posted by DrJohnEvans at 12:38 PM on February 25, 2005

I like it.
posted by dios at 12:38 PM on February 25, 2005

What about loot?
posted by Bugbread at 12:38 PM on February 25, 2005

Do we need those funny shaped 12 sided dice to play?
posted by Slack-a-gogo at 12:38 PM on February 25, 2005

I put on my robe and wizard hat.
posted by Stan Chin at 12:40 PM on February 25, 2005

What about loot?

Wuffie


Do we need those funny shaped 12 sided dice to play?

No, but you will need an internet connection and a Win95/Mac OS8.6 or better machine.
posted by thirteen at 12:41 PM on February 25, 2005

I attack the darkness! [.wav]
posted by ShawnStruck at 12:45 PM on February 25, 2005

Great thinking, thirteen. No one here will ever get laid again.
posted by felix betachat at 12:45 PM on February 25, 2005

⟨casts Mind Soothe, Rank Three across MeTa; Heal, Rank Three on y2karl.⟩
posted by Ethereal Bligh at 12:47 PM on February 25, 2005

I have toyed with the idea of internal economies, in an effort to encourage good behavior without reinforcing negative behavior. This idea has a lot of negative reinforcement aspects, where people can continually bring back troublemakers and people have wars with fireballs.

Anyhoo, interesting, and something worth thinking about.
posted by mathowie (staff) at 12:47 PM on February 25, 2005

I don't think I got enough sleep last night.
posted by DrJohnEvans at 12:49 PM on February 25, 2005

Huh. I wonder if this has been done before.
posted by eyeballkid at 12:49 PM on February 25, 2005

Great thinking, thirteen. No one here will ever get laid again.

lol!
posted by Quartermass at 12:50 PM on February 25, 2005

Wuffie

Should we just wait for the heads-up display implant to arrive in the mail, then?
posted by me3dia at 12:50 PM on February 25, 2005

Have I told you lately that I love you, thirteen?
posted by anapestic at 12:51 PM on February 25, 2005

I put on my robe and wizard hat.

you play keyboards, by any chance?
posted by quonsar at 12:51 PM on February 25, 2005

This is the most awesome bad idea ever. Kick ass.
posted by COBRA! at 12:54 PM on February 25, 2005

You are gonna make us feel like adults playing magic cards with anonymous 12 year olds in a comic book/card store. Yikes.
posted by caddis at 12:55 PM on February 25, 2005

Ganking mefites would be kinda fun.
posted by eyeballkid at 12:57 PM on February 25, 2005

Interesting analysis of "internal economies" in use by some online communities - Patterns for Building Communities in Collaborative Systems [PDF].
posted by ericb at 12:58 PM on February 25, 2005

This idea would absolutely ruin Metafilter, but I love the idea of doing it somewhere else, from scratch. MMORPB (massively multiplayer online role-playing blog)!
posted by mkultra at 12:58 PM on February 25, 2005

I smell fear coming off of caddis and cast entangle which will slow his posting to once per hour.
posted by thirteen at 12:58 PM on February 25, 2005

I just got slain by an elf.
posted by mathowie (staff) at 1:00 PM on February 25, 2005

I disbelieve.

(rolls)
posted by Bugbread at 1:02 PM on February 25, 2005

I'm in charge! I'm in CHARGE!
posted by DrJohnEvans at 1:03 PM on February 25, 2005

Can we kill hapless readers and sell their possessions on Ebay?
posted by spinifex23 at 1:04 PM on February 25, 2005

I meditate to regain my mana, before casting Lvl. 8 Cock of the Infinite.
posted by Stan Chin at 1:05 PM on February 25, 2005

Would we have to keep track of food and torches and all the boring shit?
posted by COBRA! at 1:06 PM on February 25, 2005

eyeballkid: Huh. I wonder if this has been done before.

Well, yeah, that's why he says it's his/her "greatest stolen modified idea today".
posted by Bugbread at 1:06 PM on February 25, 2005

Would we have to keep track of food and torches and all the boring shit?

No, but maybe completely inactive accounts could starve to death after 2 years.
posted by thirteen at 1:08 PM on February 25, 2005

Maybe we should try to have a discussion and create a consensus about how to "correctly" make and discuss a critical MeTa post?

I'm thinking that it's unrealistic to expect that people will never get upset or insult one another. We can frown on it, try to defuse it, but we can't mandate it away.

Given that, I think we should think of "callout" posts as divided into two categories: callouts of really egregious disruptive or (by community standards) unacceptable behavior; and criticisms about behavior where there is an honest and well-intentioned difference of opinion.

In the case of the former, I think vitriol is probably expected and should be somewhat tolerated.

In the case of the latter, I think the criticism shouldn't identify anyone personally (unless it's unavoidable) and even though people will likely have strong feelings about, say, what makes a proper FPP, there should be a strong community ethos of respect and politeness when arguing about it.

The subject of the previous MeTa thread is a good example of the latter. I don't think that almost anyone thinks that the behavior being criticized is anything other than well-intentioned and reflects an honest difference of opinion. We should be able to have adult discussions in such cases.
posted by Ethereal Bligh at 1:08 PM on February 25, 2005

Saving throws are the way to go, without saving throws I want no part of this. Plus, we should have some kind of arcane system of word counting that relates the number of syllables you're allowed per post to the number of rhetoric points you originally rolled for + the number you've captured by use of creative html tags that annoy other users.
posted by OmieWise at 1:09 PM on February 25, 2005

This makes metafilter very unsexy.
posted by naxosaxur at 1:10 PM on February 25, 2005

The subject of the previous MeTa thread is a good example of the latter. I don't think that almost anyone thinks that the behavior being criticized is anything other than well-intentioned and reflects an honest difference of opinion. We should be able to have adult discussions in such cases.

I spend my mana reserves to cast Mighty Fuck of the Beyondness.
posted by Stan Chin at 1:11 PM on February 25, 2005

I'm flagging Ethereal Bligh's post because it's Friday and he clearly hasn't slipped into something more comfortable.
posted by BlueTrain at 1:12 PM on February 25, 2005

Ethereal Bligh failed to search for traps. He is in a pit taking 4 points of damage from the 10" drop.
posted by thirteen at 1:12 PM on February 25, 2005

*casts Cone of Silence at EB*
posted by felix betachat at 1:13 PM on February 25, 2005

*!
posted by Ethereal Bligh at 1:14 PM on February 25, 2005

I'm scared at just how instantaneously I got what thirteen was talking about. I really need to go outside more often.

I call dibs on username "orcberry".
posted by Salmonberry at 1:14 PM on February 25, 2005

EB right now is the guy talking about "pulling out his laser blaster" in the middle of a D&D game.
posted by Bugbread at 1:14 PM on February 25, 2005

Poster needs food.
posted by Vaska at 1:14 PM on February 25, 2005

Poster is about to die...

(Please insert quarters in floppy disk drive)
posted by Bugbread at 1:16 PM on February 25, 2005

Ethereal Bligh failed to search for traps. He is in a pit taking 4 points of damage from the 10" drop.

Not a very deep pit, then, is it? In fact I'd barely call it a pit at all.
posted by kindall at 1:17 PM on February 25, 2005

I attack the gazebo.
posted by Johnny Assay at 1:18 PM on February 25, 2005

(Yeah, but there's a Cone of Silence covering the top of it.)
posted by Ethereal Bligh at 1:19 PM on February 25, 2005

Not a very deep pit, then, is it? In fact I'd barely call it a pit at all.

D'oh! '!
posted by thirteen at 1:19 PM on February 25, 2005

Not a very deep pit, then, is it? In fact I'd barely call it a pit at all.

Yeah, but EB's only 3 microns tall.
posted by anapestic at 1:21 PM on February 25, 2005

Lightning bolt! Lightning bolt!
posted by ewagoner at 1:23 PM on February 25, 2005

*throws grey ooze at Stan Chin.*
posted by me3dia at 1:35 PM on February 25, 2005

West of House
You are standing in an open field west of a white house, with a boarded front door. There is a small mailbox here.

>_
posted by mathowie (staff) at 1:38 PM on February 25, 2005

I hated that Gazebo.
posted by dasibiter at 1:39 PM on February 25, 2005

MetaFilter: No one here will ever get laid again.
posted by Mitheral at 1:40 PM on February 25, 2005

Does this mean my request for a Dungeon Master will be met with something other than whips, chains and a gag ball this time?

Oh well, next time...
posted by AlexReynolds at 1:40 PM on February 25, 2005

Can someone resurrect mr_crash_davis?
posted by casu marzu at 1:42 PM on February 25, 2005

*failed*
posted by Ethereal Bligh at 1:46 PM on February 25, 2005

eat mailbox
posted by jessamyn at 1:48 PM on February 25, 2005

I'm hungry. Maybe Matt could set up a deal with Pizza Hut.

/pizza
posted by Arch Stanton at 1:48 PM on February 25, 2005

You can't hurry good pizza.
posted by Stan Chin at 1:56 PM on February 25, 2005

I cast Lightning Bolt.
posted by keswick at 1:59 PM on February 25, 2005

Throw a triple word score in there somewhere and I'm in.
posted by taz at 2:00 PM on February 25, 2005

*rises from dead, fishes spell book out of Bag of Holding, casts Level 7 Pizza-and-Beer*
posted by monju_bosatsu at 2:04 PM on February 25, 2005

Okay, so the pizza doesn't work. How 'bout wings?

/wings
posted by BevosAngryGhost at 2:11 PM on February 25, 2005

Yay! Monju's back!

Please say it's not just for one joke.
posted by me3dia at 2:15 PM on February 25, 2005

Metafilter hitpoints!

Things this brings to mind:

bought indulgences.

companies trading pollution credits.

getting pizza goo in the percentile dice.
posted by scarabic at 2:16 PM on February 25, 2005

(Uh, keswick, I think you meant to link to this.)
posted by me3dia at 2:17 PM on February 25, 2005

It is dark; you are likely to be eaten by a grue.
posted by bitmage at 2:19 PM on February 25, 2005

xyzzy, all up in here!
posted by Succa at 2:23 PM on February 25, 2005

um, i thought i did.
posted by keswick at 2:27 PM on February 25, 2005

I dunno -- for me, you link goes to this entry.
posted by me3dia at 2:38 PM on February 25, 2005

It doesn't get any more serious than a Stan Chin about to charge your ass.
posted by theFlyingSquirrel at 2:45 PM on February 25, 2005

weird.

Somebody musy have cast Confusion.
posted by keswick at 2:49 PM on February 25, 2005

I just know I'm going to have to be the cleric.
posted by Doug at 2:50 PM on February 25, 2005

I'm going to need a massive suit of armor. or something.
posted by jonmc at 3:01 PM on February 25, 2005

It's been done. Not that it isn't a good idea.

Well, I don't know if it's a good idea, but it sure is a fun idea. Yes, almost all of the inherent problems with a wuffie-esque XP/HP system that are mentioned in this thread happen, at E2 and everywhere else I've seen it implemented. Gang warfare, popularity contests, stalkers, revenge feuds, indulgences, etc.

But it sure is a nice stick and carrot to get people to try harder and strive for more.

on preview: *loquacious casts a fireball at jonmc. Jonmc is crispy!*
posted by loquacious at 3:04 PM on February 25, 2005

*cough*
posted by jonmc at 3:06 PM on February 25, 2005

I suppose the different colors of MetaFilter are kind of like a Prismatic Wall. You have to do something different for each one...

Oh crumbs! I'm a nerd!

What is a grue?
posted by steelbuddha at 3:15 PM on February 25, 2005

It's been done. Not that it isn't a good idea.

Well, how about school uniforms, then ?
posted by y2karl at 3:15 PM on February 25, 2005

I don't think I can fit into a Japanese schoolgirl uniform any more. Can I be a nun?

(And just in case: I wasn't suggesting e2's system is unique at all or anything. I like the idea of adding further userfeedback paths to mefi.)
posted by loquacious at 3:21 PM on February 25, 2005

School uniforms don't provide you nearly enough AC, which opens you up to Power Attacks and wet willies.
posted by furiousthought at 3:24 PM on February 25, 2005

Just for the record, I know what a grue is. But for asking, I am likely to be eaten by one...
posted by steelbuddha at 3:25 PM on February 25, 2005

Well, how about school uniforms, then ?

And if not that, then how about we put on those banana costumes they used to wear in the Bic pen ads? That'd be neat.

What?
posted by jonmc at 3:26 PM on February 25, 2005

I am a banana!
posted by loquacious at 3:30 PM on February 25, 2005

/pancakes

Oh, come on. Someone had to try it.
posted by aine42 at 3:32 PM on February 25, 2005

how about we put on those banana costumes

it's peanut butter jelly time!


posted by jessamyn at 3:43 PM on February 25, 2005

MATHOWIE SHOT THE FOOD!
posted by DaShiv at 3:52 PM on February 25, 2005

/me takes growth potion



/me challenges Jessamyn to a dance-off
posted by bradlands at 4:05 PM on February 25, 2005

/pick up baseball bat
/hit peanut butter jelly
/now where you at?
posted by MarkAnd at 4:12 PM on February 25, 2005

Gee, and here I was going to suggest matching bowling shirts...
posted by y2karl at 4:15 PM on February 25, 2005

We all get 5000 to start.
Anyone care for a game of craps. Have to tell ya, unless I'm rolling, my bets are Don't Pass Line & Don't Come Bets.
posted by thomcatspike at 4:25 PM on February 25, 2005

>rezrov metafilter. enter metafilter. caskly front page.
posted by Wolfdog at 4:26 PM on February 25, 2005

who brought the 10' pole?
posted by exlotuseater at 4:40 PM on February 25, 2005

Would we have to keep track of food and torches and all the boring shit?

Whatever you do, just don't make me go down to the labyrinths. I will cry.
posted by Secret Life of Gravy at 4:54 PM on February 25, 2005

Mathowie Wins, at least, for Best. Blink tag. Evar!
posted by eriko at 5:04 PM on February 25, 2005

*Opens pack. Tosses Secret Life of Gravy a ball of twine and a cheese sandwich.*
posted by taz at 5:06 PM on February 25, 2005

                               Weapons
                               a - a +0 two-handed sword (weapon in hands)                               b - a +0 axe (alternate weapon; not wielded)                               Armor                               c - a blessed +0 orcish ring mail (being worn)                               Comestibles
                               d - an uncursed food ration
                               e - an uncursed tin of newt meat
                               f - an uncursed lembas wafer
                               (end)




          ----.---
          |.o....|
          |.......
          |.d....|
          |.@....|
          |......|
          --------

User the N00b       St:18 Dx:17 Co:17 In:8 Wi:10 Ch:6  Chaotic
Dlvl:1  $:-5  HP:15(15) Pw:2(2) AC:8  Exp:1

posted by eriko at 5:10 PM on February 25, 2005

Aagh. I wasn't done!!!!

(-57 hp on me)
posted by eriko at 5:10 PM on February 25, 2005

If someone made a site that did this, I'd join in a heartbeat. For Mefi? dunno.

I'll tell you what, though, if we had done this this past week, there'd be a lot of closed accounts for people who didn't deserve to be closed just because of those y2karl gang bangs. Then, mathowie would have to do some kind of DM ressurrect and drastically reduce the general population's ability to cast fireball spells, all while giveing a speech similar to the "plague on both your houses" speech from Romeo and Juliet.
posted by shmegegge at 5:14 PM on February 25, 2005

Welcome to MetaFilter!         Weapons                               a - a +0 two-handed keyboard (weapon on desk)                               b - a +0 Google Bomb (alternate weapon; not wielded)                               Armor                               c - a blessed +0 fireproof longjhons (being worn)                               Comestibles                               d - an uncursed pancake                               e - an uncursed tin of Pepsi Blue                               Scrolls                                                              f - a scroll called WHAT. THE. FUCK. MATT?                               Tools                               g - a MetaFilter Password                               (end)
          ----.---          |.o....|          |.......          |.d....|          |.@....|          |......|          --------
User the N00b       St:18 Dx:17 Co:17 In:8 Wi:10 Ch:6  ChaoticDlvl:1  $:-5  HP:15(15) Pw:2(2) AC:8  Exp:1

posted by eriko at 5:23 PM on February 25, 2005

*wanders into MetaTalk, looks around, checks to see if he somehow misspelled the URL*

Did somebody say "Cone of Silence"?

"What did you say, Max?"
posted by wendell at 5:27 PM on February 25, 2005

I love you fuckers.
posted by sciurus at 5:35 PM on February 25, 2005

Secret Life of Gravy:

You are in a maze of twisty passages, all alike.

>_
posted by exlotuseater at 5:42 PM on February 25, 2005

*loquacious pilfers monju's bag of holding and turns it inside out*
posted by loquacious at 5:45 PM on February 25, 2005

clueless as to what this is about but I hope it doesn't involve spandex, a cape and magical spells ...
posted by squeak at 5:46 PM on February 25, 2005

It does indeed, Trebek. It does indeed.

Approach so that you may learn.

*boot to the head*
posted by loquacious at 5:49 PM on February 25, 2005

FURIOUSTHOUGHT empties a clip into some enemies...

You hit the Nuke Pooch for 12 points of damage.

You hit the Nuke Pooch for 10 points of damage.

You shoot the Nuke Pooch for 11 points of damage.

You hit the ParisParamus for 86 points of damage, spraying him into a fine red mist.

(press any key)
posted by furiousthought at 5:57 PM on February 25, 2005

"This, dear little Mefite, is the Fish of Doom. At first glance, it appears pretty generic, but if you look closely you'll notice a slight amber glow. For ages, it was believed that it had been lost forever to the Blighs of Etherea, but now it appears to have resurfaced during the War of the Influx. It is your task to venture deep into the lands of Quonsor to return this dreadful thing to whence it came: Mount Pants.

Fear not, for you shall find deep wisdom within the ancient libraries of Jessamynia, and Lord Mathowye will bestow you with many ponies to help carry this heavy burden. Beware of the cursed pancakes, and seemingly ordinary objects that suddenly start to vibrate. Now, off you go, lil' Mefite, and don't forget to put on your robe and languagehat."
posted by goodnewsfortheinsane at 5:57 PM on February 25, 2005

exlotuseater:

I've been there. For hours. In the dark.

(grumble, grumble...some damn game or another)
posted by Secret Life of Gravy at 5:59 PM on February 25, 2005

This makes me so happy.
posted by Lizc at 6:29 PM on February 25, 2005

Remember when I cast Berserk on that guy from Portugal, and he made all those MetaTalk posts and no one could stop him until the spell wore off?

Remember how it took about 2 years for the spell to wear off?
posted by iconomy at 6:32 PM on February 25, 2005

Worster. Idea. Ever.

(although I do find the idea oddly compelling. It'd wholly change MeFi, but it could be a fun experiment!)

(I think I'd like that new MeFi. I vote "Aye!" for this pony!)

(It's still the Worster. Idea. Ever. Possibly the Worstest.)
posted by five fresh fish at 6:40 PM on February 25, 2005

I think Bradlands just 404'd himself...

image URL: http://www.bradlands.com/dontHotlink.gif

My browser is cycling fast, doing continual requests for the image. It ain't getting it. Something amiss...
posted by five fresh fish at 6:43 PM on February 25, 2005

West of House
You are standing in an open field west of a white house, with a boarded front door. There is a small mailbox here.

Look under the doormat
posted by Secret Life of Gravy at 6:47 PM on February 25, 2005

I roll 20s.
posted by bonaldi at 6:53 PM on February 25, 2005

I'm with taz on the triple word score. All this spell casting and cursing is beyond my mere human powers. Though it maybe fun watching the rest of you shrink and burn each other. Wait, you can't banish me if I'm not playing, right? Shit.
posted by Juicylicious at 7:01 PM on February 25, 2005

*weilds Hammer of Bannination +4*

"Eat hammer, Juicylicious!"
posted by graventy at 7:22 PM on February 25, 2005

Not to detract from the ongoing shenanigans, but:
I'm thinking that it's unrealistic to expect that people will never get upset or insult one another. We can frown on it, try to defuse it, but we can't mandate it away.

Given that, I think we should think of "callout" posts as divided into two categories: callouts of really egregious disruptive or (by community standards) unacceptable behavior; and criticisms about behavior where there is an honest and well-intentioned difference of opinion.

In the case of the former, I think vitriol is probably expected and should be somewhat tolerated.

In the case of the latter, I think the criticism shouldn't identify anyone personally (unless it's unavoidable) and even though people will likely have strong feelings about, say, what makes a proper FPP, there should be a strong community ethos of respect and politeness when arguing about it.

Holy fuck, I completely agree with EB on something in MeTa!
posted by Ryvar at 7:53 PM on February 25, 2005

We could make "MeFi: The RPG-ing!" an entirely voluntary excercise. Opt-ins may only affect other opt-ins. Stats may or may not be viewable to opt-outs, depending perhaps on personal/community preference.
posted by loquacious at 8:26 PM on February 25, 2005

EB right now is the guy talking about "pulling out his laser blaster" in the middle of a D&D game.

Well, if he's gone on an Expedition to Barrier Peaks, he might just have one...

/out-nerd that, bitches.
posted by Cyrano at 8:26 PM on February 25, 2005

West of House
You are standing in an open field west of a white house, with a boarded front door. There is a small mailbox here.

Look under the doormat

L doormat

You look under the doormat.
You are fighting the Doormat Monster.
You are fighting the Doormat Monster.
You are fighting the Doormat Monster.
You are DEAD!
posted by Jim Jones at 8:57 PM on February 25, 2005

ATTENTION ALL TROUBLESHOOTERS!

Citizen Cyrano has been demoted to security class infrared and revealed to be a Mutant Commie Traitor! All Troubleshooters security class red or better have been asked to assist The Computer assist Cyrano in the task of finding the nearest DocBot for a mandatory Happiness adjustment. The Computer is your friend! Happiness is Mandatory!
posted by loquacious at 9:01 PM on February 25, 2005

Sounds like Pyroto Mountain.
posted by sad_otter at 9:19 PM on February 25, 2005

Pyroto was much, much more ... esoteric and complex.

A simple hitpoint system would be an interesting experiment.

You get 1 point for each post.

You can use your points only you have 100 or more points.

You can use your points to remove points from someone else. You do not gain their points: it costs you 2 points for every point you remove.

You can use your points to give points to someone else. It costs you 1 point for every 2 points you give.

What do you think would happen? There'd be a real big burst of activity as people try to get to 100 points. There'd then be a big flurry of punishments meted out, perhaps with rewards being given to some of those punished.

Hmmm... and then probably the posting levels would remain highish as people try to get more points so they can continue to participate. I suspect a trusted corp would have to have a bajillion points, to downgrade those who are posting for the sake of getting points...

...so in the end it probably wouldn't work.

posted by five fresh fish at 9:52 PM on February 25, 2005

Cyrano: Barrier Peaks was awesome. I completely forgot about that. And now I'm feeling a little bit nostalgic.
posted by exlotuseater at 10:07 PM on February 25, 2005

haha.

Somewhere, someone with some bandwidth needs to put up a server somewhere and invite a bunch of Mefites to go and beat it up. I mean, test it out.
I would volunteer to code it. I just have nowhere to put it.
posted by blacklite at 11:53 PM on February 25, 2005

Also I used the word 'somewhere' twice. I am in a cone of redundancy cone.
posted by blacklite at 11:53 PM on February 25, 2005

MetaTalk has redeemed itself with this thread. I love you people.
posted by Pretty_Generic at 11:59 PM on February 25, 2005

Hey, where's Leisure Suit Larry?

Portugal?
posted by languagehat at 6:06 AM on February 26, 2005

We need to add some incentive for people to keep using existing threads instead of creating new posts. So, 2 points for anybody who posts to a thread after 3 days! (If it actually worked you would probably have to drop it back to 5 days after a while...)
posted by Chuckles at 6:41 AM on February 26, 2005

I had to ask my 18 year old son to translate some of this stuff for me.

*hangs head in nerdly shame*
posted by jokeefe at 7:23 AM on February 26, 2005

Thankyou furiousthought for reminding me of that.

/me wonders if it's too late to register the name Snake Squeezins...

The pamphlet contains two tips for the wise: "
Buy an AK-97 assault rifle.
If there's someone hanging around your neighborhood you don't know, shoot him."
posted by longbaugh at 8:27 AM on February 26, 2005

Citizen Cyrano has been demoted to security class infrared and revealed to be a Mutant Commie Traitor!

I've got five clones left. Bring it!
posted by Cyrano at 8:45 AM on February 26, 2005

best dorkiest metatalk thread ever?

(thirteen is, as always, my hero.)
posted by lia at 9:26 AM on February 26, 2005

*casts zombie twin of karl rove, awaits inevitable victory*
posted by pyramid termite at 10:57 AM on February 26, 2005

fff - you system can be trashed by a collaborating pair once they're both above 100. they just give each other points until they have more than anyone else, then wipe everyone else out. so you'd get groups of people racing towards that.
posted by andrew cooke at 11:18 AM on February 26, 2005

*inevitable victory shows up, crushes pyramid termite with a winged victory of samothrace and a wooden nickle.*

Dude, when you invoke that, you need to say "Zombie Twin of Karl Rove™".

It's those picky details that nail spell-jockeys all the time.
posted by eriko at 11:31 AM on February 26, 2005

I woke up this morning to discover I'm dead. As usual. Oh well.
posted by Secret Life of Gravy at 11:43 AM on February 26, 2005

Oops. Right you are, AC.
posted by five fresh fish at 12:10 PM on February 26, 2005

I had to ask my 18 year old son to translate some of this stuff for me.

Ha ha! Your son's a nerd!

*realizes I understood everything in the thread*
*hangs head in nerdly shame*
posted by graventy at 1:22 PM on February 26, 2005

There should totally be a "KillMefi" page. The hitpoints, etc, would be influenced by your behavior on the OTHER mefi pages, but that would be the page where you either a)allowed yourself to be part of the game, b)declined to join. Then, once you're in, you could register your various actions against other participants on that page.

And a corollary! We could cast spells that affected the posting ability and posts of other participants!

Example: an "other word" spell that removes every other word from the post of a mefi dude thus affected (but only seen by other participants. No need to fuck with what non-participants see).

But I'm going too far.

I still think this is silly but way too fun not to try.
posted by shmegegge at 1:39 PM on February 26, 2005

eriko ... i did not want to do this, but you've left me no choice

*casts my pal foot foot aural spell of doom on mefi*

*winged victory of samothrace shatters*

*wooden nickel splits*

*hundreds of mefi readers have to go to therapy*

*pyramid termite laughs and laughs, gets +10 utter bastard level*
posted by pyramid termite at 1:56 PM on February 26, 2005

Metadual.metafilter.com could be a red page. 2 people enter a thread, one person leaves. A random table of questions to the participants could posited, and the combatants will answer them essay style over the course of 10 minutes. nonparticipants will vote thumbs up or down in the fairest way the universe allows for.

We could say things like "Meet me in the 'Red', N*f*ndy, if you aren't yellow." and he will be all "No, no I am scared!" and his honor loss will put him at a -2 to defend. Myself, being an ancient, would have access to the artifacts "Hand of Kottke (+4 credibility)" and "Rebecca Blood's Gauntlets of Spelling (saving throw against words not in the spellchecker)"

If Darwin were alive, he would be crying real tears over the beauty of this plan.
posted by thirteen at 3:47 PM on February 26, 2005

thirteen, the proper way to say it will be
"I'll see you in Metadual, asshole."
posted by graventy at 3:55 PM on February 26, 2005

thirteen - I like. Kinda like Point-Counter Point ("Jane, you ignorant slut!"), but with the ability to participate in the melee!
posted by ericb at 3:56 PM on February 26, 2005

Can I be a Ram Python?

(Wrong Game?)

Fine, Fine

I'LL USE MY BROADSWORD
posted by drezdn at 8:50 PM on February 26, 2005

posted by darukaru at 9:42 AM on February 27, 2005

eriko wins. Well he lost first, but now he wins.
posted by grouse at 1:26 PM on February 27, 2005

thirteen: Prior art, sorta. I recall suggesting something similar too, but I can't find the damned thread now.

Also, shouldn't that be 'duel'?
posted by stavrosthewonderchicken at 7:11 PM on February 27, 2005

'Course there's prior art, that's why thirteen calls it his "greatest stolen modified idea today".
posted by Bugbread at 7:51 PM on February 27, 2005

I'm a level 12 vice-president.
posted by John Kenneth Fisher at 1:48 AM on February 28, 2005

DUEL! Right you are, but my gauntlets mean you must over look that while grading my performance.
posted by thirteen at 12:03 PM on February 28, 2005

*climbs into Bag of Holding*
posted by Kafkaesque at 9:37 AM on March 1, 2005